Preston RV park set to be auctioned

Friday

Last minute delays aside, the 160-acre Strawberry Park campground in Preston will go to the highest bidder Saturday as the popular RV park and resort hits the auction block.

Last minute delays aside, the 160-acre Strawberry Park campground in Preston will go to the highest bidder Saturday as the popular RV park and resort hits the auction block.

Mired in millions of dollars of debt, park owner Hyman Biber has unsuccessfully fought creditors in bankruptcy court and, as of Thursday, had failed to produce an investor to save the park he opened in 1974.

“This is going to be a bargain for somebody,” said attorney Mark Stern, who represents Preston Strawberry Funding Associates, a creditor owed $3.4 million.

The auction is expected to start at noon, after a two-hour tour of the sprawling property off Pierce Road. The auction is open to the public, but it will require a $650,000 deposit to get in on the bidding.

“With a property this size, you can expect maybe 10 qualified bidders,” Stern said. “Whoever takes this over is going to have to have enough money to operate it.”

Nearly $12M in debt
It also will take more than the $10 million sales price to cover money owed to the park’s two highest creditors, TD Bank at $8.5 million and Preston Strawberry Funding Associates. Estimates on the campground’s worth range from $10 million to more than $20 million.

Stern has not ruled out last-minute court filings on Biber’s behalf that could stall the whole process, though Biber’s attorney Carl Gulliver said Thursday he had no knowledge of any obstacles.

The auction is being conducted by the law firm of Kepple, Cole-Chu, Cipparone, Avene & Zaccaro, which has posted hundreds of pages of documents related to the property at its website at www.kccaz.com.

Key part of tax base
Preston First Selectman Bob Congdon said Biber has worked for years to create an award-winning destination that attracts thousands of people to town each year.

“It is a very important component of the town’s tax base,” Congdon said. “I don’t know how (Biber) got into the position he is in, but I know he is still working hard to pull a rabbit of out of the hat. I am confident it will continue to operate.”

Congdon said he also knows there is angst among the 189 members of a cooperative who hold rights to property at the site and are not sure what their future holds.

Christopher D’Arienzo, of Long Island, said his family has been visiting the campground for 15 years and bought a parcel in October, calling it “like a dream come true.”

In a letter recently filed with bankruptcy court, D’Arienzo said he was never informed of the financial mess and feels deceived after borrowing from equity on his home to make the purchase.

“Please don’t let these people take advantage of honest, hardworking families who share a dream like ours,” he wrote.

Hyman Biber, who declined comment Thursday, has said in court documents that the park grossed $3.7 million in 2009 from campsite rentals, RV rentals and store sales.

For Preston resident and business owner Ken Zachem, the bottom line for the town should be taxes. Court records indicate the park owes the town more than $70,000 in back taxes.

“The one thing people worry about in town is getting their tax dollars. It’s one of the biggest taxpayers in town. If the sale does happen, I hope the town gets paid,” Zachem said. “It needs every nickel they can get.”

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